I just found out that although she filed for a Chapter 7, she

Customer Question

I just found out that although she filed for a Chapter 7, she was told to change it to a chapter 13. Initially, they said I have to pay $1400 a month. I do not have that kind of money. They then reduced it to $550.00. Even that has been difficult for me, but I made two payments. ----------Now my lawyer said that she was unaware of certain items - so we have to adjust the plan again. According to her, she expects the sum to be close to the original $1400. ++=== I NEED TO KNOW IF THIS TRUSTEE CAN MAKE THE PLAN SO HIGH THAT I WILL HAVE TO MOVE??? PLEASE ANSWER ASAP, I HAVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND AM HANDICAPPED AND THE STRESS OF THIS BANKRUPTCY HAS GIVEN ME A "FLARE UP". I can't take this anymore

Hi - my name is Kirk and I'm a Bankruptcy litigation attorney. Thanks for your question concerning this issue, which I understand is very stressful.

Unfortunately, the trustee and your creditors have the right to demand payment in order to ensure adequate protection to your creditors Generally, this means that creditors lien rights to your collateral should never be in jeopardy - - meaning that the collateral's value will decrease faster than you pay off the debt.

Thus, the creditors and trustee have a right to demand payment in an amount that will prevent this from happening, and unfortunately, if you don't have enough money to make the payments the creditors demand, and if the judge will not approve your proposal, you may have to convert your case to a chapter 7.

On the other hand, if you can prove that the collateral will not decrease in value faster than you can pay it off, you certainly can make a case for your plan to be confirmed.

It all boils down to cash flow and whether or not the judge will allow you to extend the repayment terms farther than the creditor is agreeable to allow. Most judge's are more debtor-friendly and will allow repayment on a mortgage to extend 20-30 years.

If you can prove to the judge that the creditor is adequately protected by the value of its collateral, then you can make a case to have the payments stay where they currently are.

I hope the above response answers your question. However, if you have any additional questions, please let me know and I'll be glad to respond. Also, please remember to positively rate our conversation so that I may receive credit for my research and response.

I will tell you that...the things you have to go through to be an Expert are quite rigorous.

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